Mask for administering anesthesias



Jan. 19, 1954 P. L. STANTON 6,

MASK FOR ADMINISTERING ANESTHESIAS Filed Dec. 17, 1952 INVENTOR. PH/L /P L. STH/YTO/Y Patented Jan. 19, 1954 MASK FOR ADMINISTERING ANESTHESIAS Philip L. Stanton, La Canada, Califl, assignor to E & J Manufacturing 00., Burbank, Calif., a corporation of California Application December 17, 1952, Serial No. 326,441

4 Claims. (Cl. 128-205) My invention comprises a mask for use in administering anesthetic gases.

In the administration of anesthetic gases it has been found that it is desirable to manufacture the majority of the masks out of a material comprising one of the well known transparent plastics. Such a mask is light in weight and easily sterilized. As the gases used as anesthesias are usually highly combustible, it is necessary that the patient be grounded to the anesthetic machine so that no sparks will explode the anesthetic gas, some of which always leaks into the atmosphere and some is mixed with the oxygen in the patients lungs, rendering the same dangerous. Heretofore it has not been possible to use a plastic mask which could be grounded as the plastics used are dielectric.

The plastic masks now in use have an inflatable rubber cushion around the face-contacting surface. This cushion is also dielectric. The masks are connected to flexible tubing from the anesthetic machines. This flexible tubing is formed of conductive rubber; that is, a rubber high in carbon content. This type of rubber readily conducts any static electricity from the anesthetic machine to the mask but the difliculty heretofore met in the art has been grounding the tubing through the masks to the patients.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to construct a plastic mask with a flexible cushion which will conduct electricity from the flexible tubing and thus ground the patient to the anesthetic machine.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my mask.

Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

In a mask constructed in accordance with my invention a cone-shaped base I is constructed of any of the well known transparent plastics, such as Lucite, nylon, and the like. This base I has an outwardly extending ferrule 2. The ferrule 2 is of the usual shape to have a rubber tube 3 expanded and fitted thereover to conduct anesthetic gases from the anesthetic machine to the interior of the mask.

Around the face-contacting end of the base I is placed an inflatable rubber cushion 4 which has a stem 5 and a valve 5 so that it can be blown up with air to the desired pressure in order to make a firm contacting surface against the patients face. This cushion 4 is necessarily made of a rubber which is dielectric because of the fact that it must be inflated and stretched and cannot be made of the highly conductive rubbers which have large quantities of carbon therein.

To provide a path of electricity from the tube 3 into contact with the patients face, I take a mixture of powdered metallic silver and mix it with a lacquer base and paint a stripe or plurality of stripes 1 running down the ferrule 2, down the outer surface of the base I, down and under the upwardly extending flange 8 on the cushion A strap or plurality of straps 9 of conductive rubber, that is, one of high carbon content, is then positioned between the base I and the flange 8 so that it contacts one of the stripes 7. It is then wound down around the exterior of the cushion 4 and up underneath the bottom edge of the base I and cemented in place. This strap 9 is in contact with the conductive stripe I and will permit passage of the electricity from the tube 3 to the patients face, grounding the patient to the anesthetic machine and preventing accidental explosions of the anesthetic gas.

I claim:

1. In a breathing mask, a plastic base having means to connect a flexible conduit from an anesthetic machine, an inflatable face-contacting cushion surrounding one end of said base, a metallic stripe positioned on the exterior of said base extending from said connecting means and contacting said flexible conduit to said cushion, and a conductive strap around said cushion and contacting said stripe.

2. In a breathing mask, a plastic base having means to connect a flexible conduit from an anesthetic machine, an inflatable face-contacting cushion surrounding one end of said base, a stripe painted upon the exterior of said base extending from said connecting means and contacting said flexible conduit to said cushion formed of powdered electrically-conductive metal in a lacquer carrier, a conductive strap around said cushion and contacting said stripe.

3. In a breathing mask, a plastic base having means to connect a flexible conduit from an anesthetic machine, an inflatable face-contacting cushion surrounding one end of said base, a metallic stripe positioned on the exterior of said base extending from said connecting means and contacting said flexible conduit to said cushion, and a conductive rubber strap around said cushion and contacting said stripe.

4. In a breathing mask, a plastic base having means to connect a flexible conduit from an anesthetic machine, an inflatable face-contacting cushion surrounding one end of said base, a stripe painted upon the exterior of said base extending from said connecting means and contacting said flexible conduit to said cushion formed of powdered electrically-conductive metal in a lacquer carrier, and a conductive rubber strap around said cushion and contacting said stripe.

PHILIP L. STANTON.

No references cited. 

